Privately I was very, very skeptical about the Noro Kureyon Sock. I’d heard about the complaints (primarily: “It’s too scratchy. There’s too much flotsam to pick out. It’s too thin.”) and just written it off as something I’d pass on in favour of waiting for the Noro Silk Garden Sock (Silk Garden is easily in my top 10 yarns ever). And then a few weeks ago at the Purple Purl Rochelle gifted me with a gift certificate, and I started staring at the pretty Noro colours, and before I knew it I’d put that gift certificate towards some Kureyon Sock.

And let me tell you, the colours, they WIN. Hands down. I take back all the trepidation I had. It’s just like knitting with very thin sheepswool – a little bit sticky, and softer the more you handle it and handwash it – and I didn’t notice enough veggie matter in my 2 skeins to write home about. Also, when you stripe 2 colourways together, you can do things like this:

I love them. They fit like a dream. I knitted virtually nothing else but these while I was knitting them, and had them finished in just under 2 weeks. I had thought it would become tedious to keep switching colourways every 5 rows, but the effect was just the opposite. I loved seeing what shade would come up next and how the stripes would work out.

Project specs: Noro Knee-HighsYarn: Noro Kureyon Sock, #40 and #188Needles: 2.25mm DPNsNotes: I followed the same general approach that I documented here, and this time I made extra care to make them a little longer than I thought was long enough. I learned from my last pair of knee-socks that it is always better to err on the side of too long than too short, in both the leg and the foot. If the foot is too short, it will pull at the leg and the leg will become shorter, too. It also needs to be a little snug to stay up (at least 1.5 inches negative ease at the calf), and I knitted elastic thread into the cuff as is my preference.

With the Noro, I had about 20 grams of each skein left, and that was after I had yanked out several yards of each skein (in the #40, the olive green goes on for a WHILE, and it was starting to make the other colourway too obvious; In the #188, there is a part with yellow-flecked green that was making the combined colourways distractingly full-spectrum, so I yanked that out, too.) I used 1 colourway for the knee cuff/heel/toe, and the 2nd one for the cuff/heel/toe on the 2nd sock, to even the yarn quantities. In general, I think the 2 colourways one picks for a project like this have to be chosen carefully. They have to contrast enough to be obviously different, and yet if they are too different it will be distracting and disconcerting.

At first I was very, very unsure about these. Depending what time you would have asked me, I would have said these were confusing/ugly/sexy/surprising/beautiful/the best thing ever knitted/the worst thing ever knitted. Now? I love them. I love them enough that I want to do another pair, it is just a matter of whether I will wait for the Silk Garden Sock or whether I’ll try another with the Kureyon Sock.

Now my biggest problem is waiting out the summer until I can wear them for real. If only yarn lust were more seasonal.

38 responses to “I take it all back”

Stunning! I too was/am skeptical of the Noro yarn. While the colors blow every other brand out of the water, my problem with the Noro I’ve used (just silk garden) was that the yarn was so loosely spun that one too-hard yank could cause it to break. Did you have this probably with the sock yarn?

They look very satisfying to wear – ‘like they fit perfectly. Then obviously they are sooo great to look at! How wonderful it will be to put those on next winter and then when you slip off your boots seeing that fabulous colour wrapped around your feet – one of a kind colours thanks to your clever striping! Congrats on another great looking FO!

They look fabulous! I just love them, and the stripes look perfect together. I will have to take a look at that yarn this weekend. I hope to get to the Purple Purl sometime tomorrow when I get to Toronto!

Those are really too cute. I might just have to buy a second skein of the stuff now as I’ve been struggling for a while now to knit a pair. I’d been leaning towards entrelac but all the patterns come out too huge for my wee feet.

Those are awesome. I’ve long been a fan of striped socks and tights. I’m not a sock knitter, but I am beginning to notice a pattern: these are the second pair of knee socks I’ve seen on your blog and thought, “Wow. I’d like to make a pair.” The kilt hose also caught my attention. (There may have been other socks, too. I just can’t think of them at the moment.)

Thanks for sharing. And in case I’m inspired, I appreciate your feedback on the Kureyon sock yarn.

WOW, these are so pretty!
I had to smile… you have your socks and I have my new cardigan and we both must wait for summer to be over to wear them.
But it’s nice to know pretty things are waiting for us, isn’t it?